NLSY79 Appendix 26: Non-Response to Financial Questions and Entry Points

Financial questions often elicit from respondents either a "refusal" or a "don't know" response. From 1979 to 2000 the NLSY79 interviewers faced with a "refusal" or a "don't know" simply went on to the next question. Starting in 2002, respondents have been asked to estimate financial values if they could not provide an exact value.

To determine which of several methods of estimation was best for financial questions, an "income experiment" was run during the 2002 survey. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of three methods (unfolding bracket, nearest $10k, range) when they stated "don't know" or "refused" to an income question. Additionally, among respondents who were given unfolding brackets, some respondents were given relatively high starting points (referred to as the 60 percent group) or relatively low starting points (referred to as the 40 percent group). See Table 1 for the numeric totals.

First, some respondents were asked for a range of values. A second group of respondents was asked if they could provide an answer within $10,000. Third, some respondents were asked to place the value within "unfolding brackets," bracketing the range in which the true value fell.

The first method, the range of values questions, asks respondents to define a lower and upper bound value. Examining the data suggest that some respondents give quite precise bounds. When a respondent gives a range, researchers should note that the upper and lower bound variables are not always in the correct order. The survey always asks for the upper bound first and the lower bound second. However, if a respondent gives the smaller number first, that number will be typed into the upper bound variable and the range values will be reversed.

The second method, reporting a value to within the nearest $10,000, is designed to tell the respondent that a rough figure is an acceptable answer. Extreme precision is not demanded for these estimates.

The third method, unfolding brackets, lets respondents report if the amount is above or below a particular value. The initial value the respondent is given to compare is called the "entry point." The list of all entry points used by the NLSY79 survey since 2002 is found in Table 2 and Table 3 in this appendix.

For example, the entry point for the value of a vehicle is $20,000. If the answer to the entry point question is neither a "refusal" nor a "don't know" then the respondent is asked one more "is the value above or below" question. This results in a series of four brackets that provide researchers with a rough idea of the range into which the item's value falls. Researchers should be cautioned that while three of the brackets have a defined range, the top range is open-ended.